Most social housing landlords are responsible for an ageing stock portfolio (with properties mainly built between 1920 and 1980), and are now faced with escalating maintenance costs. In these austere times and the eve of welfare reform, when there isn't enough money to deliver comprehensive programmes of work to replace every component that has reached the end of its lifetime, it is essential that stock investment funding is spread as widely as possible. For organisations that have robust stock investment data at their disposal, scenario planning can be used to identify the most cost-effective stock investment solutions in conjunction with a detailed component listing and component replacement costs at an archetype / sub-archetype level.

This plenary session debates the practicalities of this approach and outlines the benefits that have been achieved by Wolverhampton Homes and Wrekin Housing Trust.